The Shadow Knows, But What Does It Know?

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.---JunichiroTanizaki (1886-1965), Japanese author.

The shadow knows, but what does it know?

It knows to follow.

It follows the Gulf Fritillary--a brightly colored orange and black butterfly with silver-spangled wings--up a fence in Vacaville, Calif., and vanishes.

That's what butterflies and shadows do--they vanish. 

If you're growing passionflower vine (Passiflora), you've probably photographed the Agraulis vanillae egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis and the adult.

But its shadow?

Have you photographed its shadow, that dark silhouette intercepting rays of light?

The shadow knows, but what does it know? 

It knows to follow.